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Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has conceded that his team made many mistakes during their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Cameroon.

Kenya went down to a 4-1 defeat against the former AFCON champions during a match held on Friday, October 11, 2024, at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.

It was a tough outing for Kenya as they conceded the first goal – a spot kick converted by Indomitable Lions’ captain Aboubakar Vincent – in the eighth minute.

The second goal came in the 39th minute, and it was scored by Martin Hongla. Two minutes before the halftime break, Bryan Mbeumo scored the third one before Christian Bassogog added the fourth in the 55th minute.

Kenya’s goal was scored by Michael Olunga in the 41st minute when Harambee Stars were already trailing by a 2-1 margin.

Firat said his team made mistakes and also that the opponents produced a commendable job.

“We made too many mistakes, especially with the first goal, but in the end, Cameroon played well.

“Bassogog was exceptional. I’ve never seen him so active as he was in this match. We trained for these transitions, but it didn’t matter in the final moments,” Firat said, as quoted by a local publication.

Firat, however, said the penalty awarded to Cameroon was not a deserved one and criticised the referee in charge of the game.

“I’ve never in my life seen a handball penalty where the referee doesn’t give a yellow card. Have you ever seen that? It’s not possible. So, he clearly didn’t know what he was doing.

“When I asked the referees a question, they spoke English. But when I asked again, they answered, ‘Je parle français’ (We speak French). I have no idea what was going on there,” the former Moldova national team coach said.

This is Kenya’s first defeat in the qualifiers, and they are now third in Group J. They will host the indomitable Lions on Monday, October 14 at Mandela National Stadium in Uganda for the second leg action.